Top 10 Oldest Universities in Africa

Summary

The oldest existing and continually operating educational institution in the world is al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, founded in 859 (Guinness World Records)
Work on al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo began in 970; it was designated a centre of learning in 988, and 35 scholars were hired the following year (Wonkhe)
None of the three oldest held modern university status before the 1950s: Ez-Zitouna gained it in 1956, al-Azhar in 1961 and al-Qarawiyyin in 1963 (Wikipedia)
Fourah Bay College in Freetown, founded in February 1827, became a degree-granting institution in 1876 through its affiliation with Durham University (BlackPast)

#	Institution	Location	Founded	University Status	Today
1	Ez-Zitouna University	Tunis, Tunisia	732 (mosque built)	1956	Teaching
2	University of al-Qarawiyyin	Fez, Morocco	857–859	1963	Teaching
3	Al-Azhar University	Cairo, Egypt	970–972	1961	Teaching
4	Sankore	Timbuktu, Mali	14th century	None	Mosque; Quranic school
5	Fourah Bay College	Freetown, Sierra Leone	1827	Degrees from 1876, through Durham	Teaching
6	University of Cape Town	Cape Town, South Africa	1829	1918	Teaching
7	University of Liberia	Monrovia, Liberia	1862 (chartered 1851)	1951	Teaching
8	Stellenbosch University	Stellenbosch, South Africa	1866	1918	Teaching
9	University of South Africa	Pretoria, South Africa	1873	1873, as an examining university	Teaching, by distance
10	Cuttington University	Suakoko, Liberia	1889	University college from 1976	Teaching

This list is ordered by founding date, oldest first. The date is the one each institution or its direct predecessor is traced to; for the three oldest, that is the founding of a mosque where teaching later grew. The "University Status" column shows when each gained modern university standing. Each entry names its source and says where a date is disputed.

Selected Details About Each University on the List

1. Ez-Zitouna University (Tunis, Tunisia)

First in terms of the age of its mosque, built in 732 (Archnet). Popular lists date its school to 737, but there is little information about teaching there before the 14th century (Wikipedia, "University of Ez-Zitouna"). One reference work says it became an organised Islamic university in the 12th century (Encyclopedia.com, "Zaytuna"). The modern university was established on 26 April 1956. It lost its independent status in 1964–65, and the Zitouna name was restored in 1987 (Wikipedia). It teaches theology and Islamic civilisation today.

2. University of al-Qarawiyyin (Fez, Morocco)

Second by date, and the record holder: Guinness World Records lists it as the oldest existing and continually operating educational institution in the world. Fatima al-Fihri, daughter of a wealthy merchant, founded it as a mosque in 857 or 859, according to the chronicler Ibn Abi Zar (Wikipedia, "University of al-Qarawiyyin"). Many scholars hold that it ran as a madrasa until it joined Morocco's state university system in 1963 (Wikipedia).

3. Al-Azhar University (Cairo, Egypt)

Third, with the best-documented start. Work on the mosque began on 4 April 970, and the first Friday prayers were held there on 22 June 972 (Wikipedia, "Al-Azhar Mosque"). In 988 the vizier Ya'qub ibn Killis designated it a centre of learning (Wonkhe). The historian Ibn Khaldun taught there from 1383 (Wikipedia, "Al-Azhar University"). It gained university status in 1961, and women were admitted from 1962 (Times Higher Education).

4. Sankore (Timbuktu, Mali)

Fourth. The Sankore Mosque was built in the 14th century, and Timbuktu's University of Sankore had 180 Koranic schools and 25,000 students (UNESCO). The 1988 evaluation for UNESCO attached the words "it is said" to that student figure, so treat it as tradition. The 16th century was Timbuktu's intellectual golden era, ended by the Moroccan invasion of 1591 (Wikipedia, "University of Timbuktu"). Sources differ on what remains: BlackPast says it now serves mainly as a place of Quranic study for young children. The empire that built it is the subject of The Rise and Fall of the Mali Empire.

5. Fourah Bay College (Freetown, Sierra Leone)

Fifth, and the first Western-style university in West Africa (Wikipedia, "Fourah Bay College"). The Church Missionary Society founded it in February 1827 as a missionary school to train teachers (BlackPast). Its first student was Samuel Ajayi Crowther, later the first African bishop of the Anglican Church. From 1876, its students took examinations identical to Durham University's, an affiliation that lasted until 1967. Freetown became known as the Athens of West Africa because of it (BlackPast). It is now a constituent college of the University of Sierra Leone.

6. University of Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa)

Sixth, founded on 1 October 1829 as the South African College, a high school for young men, and granted full university status in 1918 (Wikipedia, "University of Cape Town"). Wikipedia describes it as the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest in sub-Saharan Africa in continuous operation. That second claim depends on not counting Fourah Bay College, which was founded two years earlier.

7. University of Liberia (Monrovia, Liberia)

Seventh on the year it opened. Liberia's legislature chartered Liberia College in 1851, four years after independence, but the school was not inaugurated until January 1862, with classes beginning in 1863 (Wikipedia, "University of Liberia"). On the charter date, it would still rank seventh. It became the University of Liberia in 1951, when its law school was also established. A medical school was added in 1968.

8. Stellenbosch University (Stellenbosch, South Africa)

Eighth, tracing its origin to the Stellenbosch Gymnasium, which opened on 1 March 1866 (Wikipedia, "Stellenbosch University"). An Arts Department was added in 1874, and the institution was renamed Victoria College in 1887 (South African History Online). University status came on 2 April 1918, made possible by a £100,000 bequest from Jannie Marais, a mining magnate and politician who died in 1915 (Stellenbosch University; Wikipedia, "Jannie Marais"). On its 1918 date alone, it would not make this list.

9. University of South Africa (Pretoria, South Africa)

Ninth. Unisa describes itself as the direct descendant of South Africa's first university, the University of the Cape of Good Hope, created in 1873 by an act of the Cape Colony's Parliament (Unisa). That body did no teaching: it set examinations for associated colleges, on the model of the University of London. It was renamed the University of South Africa in 1916 and moved to Pretoria in 1918. In 1946 it began teaching by post.

10. Cuttington University (Suakoko, Liberia)

Tenth, founded on 22 February 1889 as Hoffman Institute at Harper by Bishop Samuel David Ferguson. A divinity school was added in 1897, and it took the Cuttington name in honour of its first donor (Episcopal Church glossary). Its record is not continuous: it closed in 1929 and reopened in 1949 at Suakoko, then closed again in 1990 because of the Liberian civil war (BlackPast). It ranks here on its founding date, not on unbroken teaching.

Quick Answers to Commonly Asked Questions About this Topic

What is the oldest university in Africa?

By record, al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, founded in 859, is listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest continually operating educational institution in the world. Ez-Zitouna's mosque in Tunis is older, built in 732, but little is known about teaching there before the 14th century.

Is al-Qarawiyyin really the oldest university in the world?

Guinness lists it as the oldest existing educational institution and calls Bologna, founded in 1088, the oldest in Europe. Many scholars date al-Qarawiyyin's change from madrasa to university to 1963 (Wikipedia).

Is Sankore in Timbuktu still a university?

Sources differ. BlackPast says it still exists, serving mainly as a place of Quranic study for young children. A study guide by Vaia says the University of Timbuktu no longer operates. Its decline began after Morocco invaded in 1591; in 1594 the scholar Ahmad Baba was deported to Marrakesh (Britannica). That story is in The Fall of Songhai: How Morocco Invaded the Empire in 1591.

Which is the oldest Western-style university in Africa?

Fourah Bay College in Freetown, founded in 1827, was the first Western-style university in West Africa (Wikipedia). The University of Cape Town followed in 1829.